Applications Developer

Senior Applications DeveloperAgency/Client: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Program: Sampling Program Enhancement / GENESIS Modernization Location: Remote — supporting USDA NASS, Washington, DC Duration: 24-month engagement Pay Rate: $65.47/hour Openings: 2 Minimum Experience: 7 years Previous USDA/NASS Experience: Strong plusPosition OverviewSMX Services & Consulting is seeking two Senior Applications Developers to support the modernization of USDA NASS's mission-critical GENESIS application.GENESIS currently relies on legacy SAS/AF and SCL technologies. The modernization effort will replace the legacy environment with a modern, browser-based user interface and modular service-oriented backend while maintaining the functionality required for NASS's sampling operations.These are hands-on senior development positions. The selected developers will contribute across frontend development, backend services, API development, enterprise integration, data access, automated testing, security, accessibility, and migration from the legacy application.Key ResponsibilitiesThe Senior Applications Developers will:Lead development of the modernized GENESIS application.Build modern frontend user-interface components.Develop backend application services.Develop RESTful APIs and modular services.Implement sampling parameter-entry capabilities.Implement sample-size management and sample-creation workflows.Support replication, review, approval, and export functionality.Build data-exchange components and enterprise-system connectors.Support Sample Master export modernization.Integrate with NASS enterprise databases and downstream systems.Develop functionality supporting Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server.Support modular sampling algorithm services.Enable interoperability with statistical tools including R, Python, and SAS.Implement robust logging, metrics, debugging, and error handling.Develop automated unit and integration testing.Support parallel testing against the legacy GENESIS system.Help ensure deterministic and reproducible system outputs.Implement secure coding practices.Support RBAC, authentication, and audit logging.Ensure Section 508 accessibility requirements are incorporated into development.Participate in peer reviews and coding-standard development.Produce technical documentation.Participate in Agile ceremonies, sprint planning, backlog refinement, and risk discussions.Provide knowledge transfer to NASS personnel.These responsibilities directly support the SOW's required modernization of the frontend, backend/API architecture, sampling services, integrations, testing, security, documentation, and knowledge transfer.Required Development ExperienceCandidates must have:Minimum 7 years of hands-on software-development experience.At least 3 years building and supporting enterprise-scale web applications.Experience leading development activities involving at least one of: Application modernization, Cloud migration, Service-oriented architecture.Ability to translate business requirements into technical tasks.Ability to develop reasonable level-of-effort estimates.Strong communication skills for working with statisticians, architects, engineers, and government technical SMEs.Core Technical SkillsStrong experience is sought in:C#.NET.NET BlazorJava and/or Python where applicableModern browser-based application developmentReact, Angular, or VueRESTful APIsMicroservicesService-oriented architectureBackend orchestrationEnterprise integration patternsMicrosoft Azure or comparable cloud platformsCI/CD pipelinesDocker/containerizationAutomated testing frameworksMicrosoft SQL ServerSybaseORM/data-access frameworksSecure data-access patternsRBACAuthenticationAudit loggingSecure coding practicesFedRAMP-aligned development practicesC#/.NET Blazor should receive particular attention during recruiting. Section 3 of the SOW explicitly requires replacing the legacy SAS/AF interface with a modern responsive browser-based UI built using C# and.NET Blazor.Preferred BackgroundStrong candidates may also have experience with:USDA or USDA NASSFederal application modernizationSAS/AF or SAS environmentsStatistical/sampling applicationsLegacy application modernizationAzureHighly regulated data environmentsSection 508/WCAG accessibilityFederal security requirementsLarge enterprise database applicationsSecurity & EligibilityCandidates must be U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents and be able to satisfy USDA fingerprinting, background investigation, PIV, confidentiality, and security-training requirements. The information is unclassified but includes highly sensitive PII. SMX Services and Consulting, Inc.